I am in the process of deciding on a new lathe.

I decided against a used one as I want something
that will work out of the box, as well I would like it to
be no more then 350 lb. With most of the removable
parts taken off maybe 250 lb net.

My first project will be machining and cut
4130 aircraft tubing, the pieces are 1" dia. with
..0625" wall that will be bored and have a finished
wall thickness of .035" to receive ball bearings.

What experiences do some of the members of this
group have regarding new Asian lathe? What would be
the best price / value ratio in that class as mentioned above.
I have done some research on the web but I still need
input of users that can make informed comments.

Thanks in advance
Udo Rumpf
Canada

9x20.

5 or so dift suppliers carry it, incl HF, Grizz, Enco, etc etc.

http://www.bedair.org/9x20.html for what can and in some cases,
should be done to it to improve it (beefing up cross-slide, adding
reverse and may be going variable-speed). It is an incredibly
popular one and there are tons of resources on the Web.

If you go that route, $700 @ HF - 20% off, pick it up @ yer
local store for instant gratification.

Or, if you innted to stay small in worksizes, go with The Lathe:
8x12, www.mini-lathe.com . Again, carried by all the usual
suspects. It is even more popular than the 9x20 and again,
lots of resources on the Web.

Both are perfectly useable outta box, right after removal of
protective grease.

What Rashid said.

I have a 13x40 Enco, ca 1992, fairly pimped out by the previous owner. 70
rpm ( a little fast for tapping) to about 2200, 8 speeds.
Love it.
Not a Clausing Colchester (which shall be coming soon!!), but with its
extras (snap handle collet closer, digital readout, Aloris tooling, camlock
chucks), it's a pleasure to use.

I would highly recommend as many of those options as you can afford. A 5C
collet system is fairly essential for small parts, and moreso if any kind of
production is anticipated. Super-essential for thin-walled tubing. The
snap handle is but one system (imo the best) of closing sed collets.

However, in these smaller lathes, you might not be able to fit 5C (which go
from near-zero to 1.125 diam). Thus, to go the 5C route, you *might* have
to bump up the size of the lathe a bit.

Ahm no 'spert, but w/ boring such thin walled tubing in a 3-jaw chuck, I
suspect you will wind up w/ a kind of "lobed" bore, proly not so great for
bearings. You could always machine a split-sleeve for your project (sort of
mimicing a collet!), but collets make this, and oodles of other work, a
slam-dunk.

Can't complain about the accuracy of the Enco, but then I'm not particular.
It can hold .0005--but not over 40", of course.

If weight is an issue because of moving considerations, I think you can
unbolt the gear head from the bed, and sans motor/carriage/tailstock, I
think the bed and gear head will come in at about 250# (each).
Comes w/ a pretty nice sheet metal stand/cabinet ditty.
The 13x40, sans the goodies, I think is between $2 and 3K.
--
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"rashid111" wrote in message
oups.com...
9x20.

5 or so dift suppliers carry it, incl HF, Grizz, Enco, etc etc.

http://www.bedair.org/9x20.html for what can and in some cases,
should be done to it to improve it (beefing up cross-slide, adding
reverse and may be going variable-speed). It is an incredibly
popular one and there are tons of resources on the Web.

If you go that route, $700 @ HF - 20% off, pick it up @ yer
local store for instant gratification.

Or, if you innted to stay small in worksizes, go with The Lathe:
8x12, www.mini-lathe.com . Again, carried by all the usual
suspects. It is even more popular than the 9x20 and again,
lots of resources on the Web.

Both are perfectly useable outta box, right after removal of
protective grease.

"Proctologically Violated©®" wrote:

I would highly recommend as many of those options as you can afford. A 5C
collet system is fairly essential for small parts, and moreso if any kind of
production is anticipated. Super-essential for thin-walled tubing. The
snap handle is but one system (imo the best) of closing sed collets.

However, in these smaller lathes, you might not be able to fit 5C (which go
from near-zero to 1.125 diam). Thus, to go the 5C route, you *might* have
to bump up the size of the lathe a bit.

It's worth looking at the Bison brand 5C collet chucks. Not super
expensive, though not cheap, and available in both 4 inch and 5 inch
sizes.

I use one of the 5 inch ones at work on a Schaublin 150, and its much
more convenient than the factory collet setup.

On the smaller lathes, you will be limited to the diameter of stock
that will fit through the spindle, but you will still be able to utilise
the larger 5C collets for shorter chunks of bar.

Cheers
Trevor Jones

Udo, I picked up a Busy Bee 2227L specifically because it would handle
1" diameter stock through the spindle. I may be wrong on this but I
believe the generic 9x20's spindle is more likw 3/4", at least Busy
Bee's version (CT039) is.

It isn't the world's best lathe but so far it's done everything I need
it to do. Drawbacks are the lack of a quick change box if you're
going to be doing a lot of different threads and no reverse on the
feed screw. There also in no power crossfeed. None of these has been
a major problem for me so far.

Heres' the link to Busy Bee's web site-

http://www.busybeetools.com/

Here's mine-

http://users.eastlink.ca/~howarde/Lathe..html


Good luck,

Howard.



On Sun, 23 Apr 2006 11:56:12 -0400, "Udo Rumpf"
wrote:

I am in the process of deciding on a new lathe.

I decided against a used one as I want something
that will work out of the box, as well I would like it to
be no more then 350 lb. With most of the removable
parts taken off maybe 250 lb net.

My first project will be machining and cut
4130 aircraft tubing, the pieces are 1" dia. with
.0625" wall that will be bored and have a finished
wall thickness of .035" to receive ball bearings.

What experiences do some of the members of this
group have regarding new Asian lathe? What would be
the best price / value ratio in that class as mentioned above.
I have done some research on the web but I still need
input of users that can make informed comments.

Thanks in advance
Udo Rumpf
Canada

Yes, there are a variety of chuck-mounted collet systems. One is called a
spin closer. Don't know if the Bison is this type.
Bison is a good brand--Polish. Several cuts above the Chinese stuff.
Priced inbetween Chinese and American, a bit closer in price to the Chinese.
Chinese 5C collets: $6; Bison: $13; Royal: $27; Hardinge: $1K.

Btw, practicalmachinist.com has a forum for Schaublin lathes. I just helped
a buddy pick up two from NJ, w/ snap handle collet closers and some kind of
hydraulic tracer attachment, and one *big-assed* transformer. Excellent
lathes, I'm told, quite on par w/ Hardinge.
Looks like my buddy will be spending a lot of time on this forum!

Oh, and to the OP:
Even tho he expressed a desire for new, there are a lot of really nice small
Southbend lathes, still a tad heavier than the requested weight, but good
complete machines, often w/ 5C snap handles. Problem is is that dealers
often charge a premium for these small lathes, as the hobbyist crowd tends
to drive up prices. A dealer here in Yonkers, NY has a few of these, all
going from around $2K+.
Some hunting around might turn up a relative bargain or two.
--
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"Trevor Jones" wrote in message
...
"Proctologically Violated©®" wrote:

I would highly recommend as many of those options as you can afford. A
5C
collet system is fairly essential for small parts, and moreso if any kind
of
production is anticipated. Super-essential for thin-walled tubing. The
snap handle is but one system (imo the best) of closing sed collets.

However, in these smaller lathes, you might not be able to fit 5C (which
go
from near-zero to 1.125 diam). Thus, to go the 5C route, you *might*
have
to bump up the size of the lathe a bit.

It's worth looking at the Bison brand 5C collet chucks. Not super
expensive, though not cheap, and available in both 4 inch and 5 inch
sizes.

I use one of the 5 inch ones at work on a Schaublin 150, and its much
more convenient than the factory collet setup.

On the smaller lathes, you will be limited to the diameter of stock
that will fit through the spindle, but you will still be able to utilise
the larger 5C collets for shorter chunks of bar.

Cheers
Trevor Jones

"Proctologically Violated©®" wrote:

Yes, there are a variety of chuck-mounted collet systems. One is called a
spin closer. Don't know if the Bison is this type.
Bison is a good brand--Polish. Several cuts above the Chinese stuff.
Priced inbetween Chinese and American, a bit closer in price to the Chinese.
Chinese 5C collets: $6; Bison: $13; Royal: $27; Hardinge: $1K.

The bison uses a threaded plate, turned by the pinion that would
otherwise have tuned the scroll of a 3 jaw chuck. Pretty basic.


Btw, practicalmachinist.com has a forum for Schaublin lathes. I just helped
a buddy pick up two from NJ, w/ snap handle collet closers and some kind of
hydraulic tracer attachment, and one *big-assed* transformer. Excellent
lathes, I'm told, quite on par w/ Hardinge.
Looks like my buddy will be spending a lot of time on this forum!


I am aware of the practicalmachinist site. In some respects better than
Hardinge, I am told. Price is not one of the ways, though.

Kinda hard to get used to threading without halfnuts to engage and
disengage, what with the 150 using a ballscrew instead of a leadscrew.

Ours is kinda beatup looking, but runs nice, and can hold tenths better
than I can most days.

Cheers
Trevor Jones

Don't know which Schaublins my buddy got, but he got a pair fairly well
drressed and in apparently good shape, for $7500.
Plus my free labor.
But not the riggers.
--
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"Trevor Jones" wrote in message
...
"Proctologically Violated©®" wrote:

Yes, there are a variety of chuck-mounted collet systems. One is called
a
spin closer. Don't know if the Bison is this type.
Bison is a good brand--Polish. Several cuts above the Chinese stuff.
Priced inbetween Chinese and American, a bit closer in price to the
Chinese.
Chinese 5C collets: $6; Bison: $13; Royal: $27; Hardinge: $1K.

The bison uses a threaded plate, turned by the pinion that would
otherwise have tuned the scroll of a 3 jaw chuck. Pretty basic.


Btw, practicalmachinist.com has a forum for Schaublin lathes. I just
helped
a buddy pick up two from NJ, w/ snap handle collet closers and some kind
of
hydraulic tracer attachment, and one *big-assed* transformer. Excellent
lathes, I'm told, quite on par w/ Hardinge.
Looks like my buddy will be spending a lot of time on this forum!


I am aware of the practicalmachinist site. In some respects better than
Hardinge, I am told. Price is not one of the ways, though.

Kinda hard to get used to threading without halfnuts to engage and
disengage, what with the 150 using a ballscrew instead of a leadscrew.

Ours is kinda beatup looking, but runs nice, and can hold tenths better
than I can most days.

Cheers
Trevor Jones

Traverse Tools (Queens, NY tool supplier) has a bunch of import small lathes
as well.
--
Mr. P.V.'d
formerly Droll Troll
"Udo Rumpf" wrote in message
...
I am in the process of deciding on a new lathe.

I decided against a used one as I want something
that will work out of the box, as well I would like it to
be no more then 350 lb. With most of the removable
parts taken off maybe 250 lb net.

My first project will be machining and cut
4130 aircraft tubing, the pieces are 1" dia. with
.0625" wall that will be bored and have a finished
wall thickness of .035" to receive ball bearings.

What experiences do some of the members of this
group have regarding new Asian lathe? What would be
the best price / value ratio in that class as mentioned above.
I have done some research on the web but I still need
input of users that can make informed comments.

Thanks in advance
Udo Rumpf
Canada